The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-01-23
DON t KNOW HIM.

4
Loyal Leaguers are saying regarding
President Cleveland and the Tucker
DILL Both the editors and the Leaguers
wish they could believe themselves
when they speak as above, but they
can't. II there is one characteristic
more than another which is pronounced
In the President it is his absence of fear
in such a matter. he cares less for
parts and less for popularity than any
Of his predecessors from. Washington
down. lie would "dareT to ruin his
party, dividing it and scattering it to
the four winds, if the disapproval of a
bill which he thought should not be
come law would do the dividing and
scattering. He dared veto pension bills
by the dozen last year, when the mem
bers of his party hadn't the courage to
vote against them though knowing they
were crooked; he has dared to defy not
only his party and scorn the Republican
threats. but has shown himself indie
pendent of public opinion. If Mr..
Cleveland thinks the Tucker bill bad
one, if he regards its provisions as IN
necessarily severe or unjust. he will not
hesitate to veto it, though knowing
that by so doing he would subject him
self to the denunciatioh of Congress, the
press and pulpit. When men say MIR.
Cleveland will not dare not veto the
bill, they proclaim their ignorance of
the mar, and declare that they know
nothing of his history as sheriff, gov
,ernor and President. "a e
The Tucker bill has mt yet
reached the President, and the
probabilities are against it going 10
him; but if it should be presented
for his approval or rejection we believe
ne would not hesitate TO send the bill
back to Congress, accompanied Iby a
veto message which would brihg a
blush of shame to every Senator and
Representative who had voted for the
infamous measure. We believe Mr..
Cleveland would veto it, because he
could not convince himself that the act
was constitutional. We believe he
would veto it because he would
find its measures unnecessarily
harsh and cruel. We believe he would
veto it because he could discover no
occasion for the act. Mr.. Cleveland is
aware that there is a law in operation
in Utah which is dealing with the only
Offense against which Congress has the
right to legislate. He knows that the
statute against polygamy is being en-
forced as no other law in the book is
being enforced. He knows that all the
District Attorney has to do is to tell
the Marshal that So ,and-So is apolyg-
amist, and So-and-So' is at once
arrested, indicted by a Grand Jury
sworn to indict on the f1imsi testi-
mony if better evidence cannot be had
tried before a Court which would con-
slider it treason to permit the accused
to enjoy any of the rights and privileges
which the law allows elsewhere
declared guilty by petit jury made
up of men selected on &C
out of their known hostility to tbs
defendant, and impaneled only afGer
they have almost sworn to convict, and
finally sentenced by Judge who would
as soon think of denying his Savior
as of showing mercy to a Mormon who
would not get down on his KEGS before
His Honor and declare his life's record
one of fraud and deceit.
Mr.. Cleveland knows all this, and ht
should know that no law could do more
in the way of suppressing polygsmy
than the Edmunds act of 1882 is doing
If thstlaw is failure then every othe,
statute must be failure. If the Presi
dent thinks it right that because 800
persons violate law 15e 900 should b
deprived of all rights OF citizenship. b,
may approve tue Tucker bill. If Mr.
Cleveland thinks that because 5 100
men in Utah have married more thar
one wife each and are now being mos
terribly punished for it, everybody els
in the Territory should be punished b,
Acknowledgement, he may sanction II
Tucker bill. If the President thinks
the righs thing to 10 to place the pro
perty and persons Of 16O, 900 honesf
industrious, law-abid;ng people at tn
mercy Of g handful of their open an
avowed enemies, a mob of carpet-ba
Adventures without responsibility or
sense of justice, he may approve tn
bill. # the President Is 81 Eetl
Democrat that he thiaks
proper that an insignificant mi
nority should be given absolut
political power oyer the persons and pc.
sessions OF the overwhelming majority
be may approve the bill. If Mr.. Cleye
land thinks it right to use the power
authority anu law of the nation to bel
little gang Of plunderers rob and d,
spoil a thrifty, growing and progressive